People v. Nixon

These six criminal cases involve, in one fashion or another, the taking of a plea of guilty to a lesser crime than that charged in the indictment. Questions are raised whether the pleading court has an obligation in every case to inquire of the defendant concerning his guilt and the propriety of the plea. Also at issue are the obligations of the court when the defendant on sentence interposes assertions affecting his guilt or the propriety of the earlier plea.

Thus far this court has made it clear that if, in pleading guilty, a defendant has cast doubt upon his guilt, he must be permitted to…